Julie Blaskewicz Boron, Ph.D., Named Associate Dean for the Office of Graduate Studies

Juan Casas, Ph.D., acting dean of the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Office of Graduate Studies has appointed Julie Blaskewicz Boron, Ph.D. as associate dean of the Office of Graduate Studies, effective January 2022.

As associate dean, Boron will lead the Office of Graduate Studies in leadership and management for all areas of UNO graduate education, focusing especially on student enrollment and retention, students’ academic progress and success, students’ professional development, and enhancing the student experience from recruitment to graduation. She will work collaboratively with faculty, deans, associate deans, graduate program chairs and administrators and staff throughout the university and the NU system to enhance graduate education at UNO.

“Some of the world’s best and brightest graduate students call UNO home, and I am very excited to begin my new position for that reason,” Boron says. “This position will afford me the opportunity to partner with faculty and staff in securing access for all graduate students to the high impact, high quality programs, resources, and services that will help them succeed in their academic endeavors at UNO.”

Boron started her career at UNO in 2014 as an assistant professor in the Department of Gerontology. By 2016, Boron was named an associate professor. She continued to take her career even further with UNO, and in 2018, was appointed as an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Biomechanics. By 2019, Boron was named the Leo Missinne Professor of Gerontology, and as of 2021, a professor of gerontology. Since Fall 2019, she has served as the faculty academic assessment coordinator for UNO.

She also serves as the doctoral program chair in gerontology, and actively involves students of all levels in her research. In 2021, she was recognized with UNO’s Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award. As a result of her scholarly work and service in the field, Boron has been recognized as a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (FGSA). She also serves on the APA Division 20 Executive Committee and is on three editorial boards.

Boron earned her masters and doctoral degrees from the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University. She then completed a NIA postdoctoral fellowship focused on cognitive aging at The Georgia Institute of Technology. Before joining UNO, Boron was an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Youngstown State University.